Wetsuit Water Catch Device

ABSTRACT

A wetsuit has a plurality of pieces of material that are stitched or glued together to form the wetsuit, a drag-creating section provided on one of the pieces of material. The drag-creating section has a base, and a plurality of water catch devices, each water catch device having a flap piece, with a cavity defined between each flap piece and the base of the piece of material and an opening that leads to the cavity. Each flap piece is constructed such that it can be moved between a collapsed configuration where it is generally flat adjacent the underlying base of the piece of material , and an expanded configuration in which it stretches away from the underlying base of the piece of material. The plurality of water catch devices are arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the base, with the openings of each row of water catch devices facing each other.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Related Cases

This is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No. 12/799,748, filedApr. 29, 2010, now pending, whose entire disclosure is incorporated bythis reference as though set forth fully herein.

2. Field of the Invention

The present invention is directed to wetsuits, and in particular, tothree-dimensional structures that are formed integrally with thewetsuits to increase the drag forces of a swimmer, thereby providingincreased forces for propelling a swimmer through the water.

3. Description of the Prior Art

In the wetsuit market today, many devices have been developed thatpurport to increase swimming efficiency. These devices are usually addedpieces of molded materials like silicone or rubber that are attached tothe arm or leg by means of stitching or gluing. The three-dimensionalshapes of such devices extrude from the arm or leg, thereby increasingthe surface area for drag during a swimming stroke which would aid inpropulsion through the water to increase swim speed. The drawback tosuch devices is that, while the drag is increased, the friction alsoincreased proportionally.

SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE

It is one objective of the present invention to provide a structure foruse with a wetsuit that increases drag for propulsion while stillminimizing friction through the water.

It is another objective of the present invention to provide a structurefor use with a wetsuit that allows the wetsuit design to be streamlinedand light-weight, and which allows for simplified production and reducedproduction costs.

To accomplish the objectives set forth above, the present inventionprovides a wetsuit comprising a plurality of pieces of material that arestitched or glued together to form the wetsuit, a drag-creating sectionprovided on one of the pieces of material. The drag-creating section hasa base, and a plurality of water catch devices, each water catch devicehaving a flap piece, with a cavity defined between each flap piece andthe base of the piece of material and an opening that leads to thecavity. Each flap piece is constructed such that it can be moved betweena collapsed configuration where it is generally flat adjacent theunderlying base of the piece of material, and an expanded configurationin which it stretches away from the underlying base of the piece ofmaterial. The plurality of water catch devices are arranged in two rowson opposite sides of the base, with the openings of each row of watercatch devices facing each other.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a full body wetsuit showing the watercatch devices in accordance with a first embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of a swimmer's arm showing thecavities of the water catch devices of a drag-creating section of thewetsuit of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 illustrates a swimmer wearing the wetsuit of FIG. 1 whileswimming using a freestyle stroke

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a water catch device of the wetsuitof FIG. 1 in the collapsed configuration, together with an illustrationof a swimmer's stroke.

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view of a water catch device of the wetsuitof FIG. 1 in the opened configuration, together with an illustration ofa swimmer's stroke.

FIG. 5 illustrates an arm of the wetsuit of FIG. 1 turned inside outshowing how the different water catch sections are constructed andarranged together.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a full body wetsuit showing the watercatch devices in accordance with a second embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged perspective view of a swimmer's arm showing thecavities of the water catch devices of a drag-creating section of thewetsuit of FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 illustrates a swimmer wearing the wetsuit of FIG. 6 whileswimming using a freestyle stroke.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a water catch device of the wetsuitof FIG. 6 in the opened configuration.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The following detailed description is of the best presently contemplatedmodes of carrying out the invention. This description is not to be takenin a limiting sense, but is made merely for the purpose of illustratinggeneral principles of embodiments of the invention. The scope of theinvention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to FIG. 1, a wetsuit 10 is shown with a pair of arms 12 a, 12b, a torso section 14, and a pair of legs 16 a, 16 b. The wetsuit 10 canbe made in the same manner as any conventional wetsuit, using the samematerials as any conventional wetsuit. For example, wetsuits can be madefrom multiple pieces of material, which are later stitched or gluedtogether to form the wetsuit. The material can be any conventionalmaterial that is used for wetsuits, such as NEOPRENE™ or SPANDEX™.

A plurality of drag-creating sections are provided at differentlocations on the outer surface of the wetsuit. For example, adrag-creating section 18 a can be provided on the inner forearm portionof the left arm 12 a, another drag-creating section 18 b can be providedon the inner forearm portion of the right arm 12 b, yet anotherdrag-creating section 20 a can be provided on the outer calf portion ofthe left leg 16 a, and a further drag-creating section 20 b can beprovided on the outer calf portion of the right leg 16 b.

FIG. 2 shows the drag-creating section 18 a on the left arm 12 a.Referring now to FIGS. 2-5, each drag-creating section (e.g., 18 a) hasa plurality of water catch devices 22. The drag-creating sections 18 aand 18 b are shown as having four water catch devices 22, and thedrag-creating sections 20 a and 20 b are shown as having five watercatch devices 22, though these numbers can be varied depending on thelength of the arms and legs, the weight and/or height of the swimmer,intended use of the wetsuit (swimming, surfing or diving), the style ofstroke, and other environmental factors (e.g., swimming conditions suchas swimming in a pool or open water where there are currents, currentflow directions, etc.).

Each water catch device 22 is created by providing a flexible panel 26that covers the base 24 or a base portion 26 b of another panel 26 in amanner which defines a cavity 28 therebetween. More specifically, eachpanel 26 can have three portions, a flexible flap piece 26 a, a baseportion 26 b, and an inter-joining section 26 c between the flap piece26 a and the base portion 26 b, as best shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. Theproximal-most panel 26 can be stitched to the base 24, and the nextadjacent panel 26 can have its cavity 28 opening towards the rear of theprevious (proximal) panel 26 in a manner where the panel 26 is stitched(by stitching 30) or otherwise connected to the base portion 26 b of theprevious (proximal) flap piece 26. In this manner, the water catchdevices 22 on each drag-creating section are arranged directly adjacenteach other (i.e., one directly behind the other in series). As usedherein, “distal” is closer to the hands or feet, with “proximal” beingcloser to the torso.

The flap piece 26 a is constructed such that it can be expanded andcollapsed to allow water to enter and leave the cavity 28. This isfacilitated by providing the surface area of the flap piece 26 a to begreater than the surface area of the underlying base 24 or base portion26 b so that the flap piece 26 a can expand. The flap piece 26 a can bemoved between the collapsed configuration (see FIG. 4A) where it isgenerally flat adjacent the underlying base 24 or base portion 26 b, andan expanded configuration (see FIG. 4B) in which it stretches away fromthe underlying base 24 or base portion 26 b.

The flap pieces 26 a assist the swimmer (wearing the wetsuit 10) ingenerating drag, while minimizing undesirable friction. For example, ina swim stroke for the freestyle stroke (see FIGS. 3 and 4A), when thearm enters the water, the water catch devices 22 are moving in a firstdirection where the streamlined orientation of the flap piece 26 a willenable it to stay flat due to water pressure (i.e., water pushingagainst the outer surface of the flap piece 26 a), thereby keepingfriction through the water at a minimum. Conversely, during the pullphase of the freestyle stroke (see FIG. 4B), the water catch devices 22are moving in a second opposite direction where the water flows into thecavities 28, thereby increasing the surface area of the water catchdevices 22 exposed to the water and provides additional drag on the armsand legs.

The water catch devices 22 are oriented on the arms and legs of thewetsuit 10 in a manner to provide additional drag only during portionsof a stroke where the swimmer's arms and legs are moving in a rearwarddirection, thereby providing propulsion through the water in a forwarddirection. For example, the water catch devices 22 for the arms 12 a, 12b in FIG. 1 are all oriented with the cavities 28 opening towards thelower back of the body, and the water catch devices 22 for the legs 16a, 16 b oriented with the cavities 28 opening towards the lower front ofthe body. Such an orientation is best suited for use in a freestylestroke.

The structure and arrangement of the drag-creating sections and theirwater catch devices 22 allows for the provision of a wetsuit that helpsto increase drag for propulsion while still minimizing friction throughthe water, and a wetsuit design that can be streamlined andlight-weight, and which allows for simplified production and reducedproduction costs. In particular, each drag-creating section has aplurality of water catch devices 22 that are arranged (in series) oneimmediately behind the other. This arrangement allows less material tobe used for the wetsuit 10 as each panel 26 itself defines a cavity 28and a base portion 26 b. Less material used means less material waste,and reduces the stitching area as well. In addition, this arrangementprovides a clearer and slicker outer surface as the stitching 30 is notvisible from the exterior, thereby helping to reduce friction andproviding a more streamlined wetsuit outer surface.

FIGS. 6-9 illustrate another embodiment of the drag-creating sectionsaccording to the present invention. Referring to FIG. 6, a wetsuit 110is shown with a pair of arms 112 a, 112 b, a torso section 114, and apair of legs 116 a, 116 b. The wetsuit 110 can be made in the samemanner as any conventional wetsuit, using the same materials as anyconventional wetsuit. For example, wetsuits can be made from multiplepieces of material, which are later stitched or glued together to formthe wetsuit. The material can be any conventional material that is usedfor wetsuits, such as NEOPRENE™ or SPANDEX™.

A plurality of drag-creating sections are provided at differentlocations on the outer surface of the wetsuit. For example, adrag-creating section 118 a can be provided on the inner forearm portionof the left arm 112 a, another drag-creating section 118 b can beprovided on the inner forearm portion of the right arm 112 b, yetanother drag-creating section 120 a can be provided on the outer calfportion of the left leg 116 a, and a further drag-creating section 120 bcan be provided on the outer calf portion of the right leg 116 b.

FIG. 7 shows the drag-creating section 118 a on the left arm 112 a.Referring now to FIGS. 7-9, each drag-creating section (e.g., 118 a) hasa plurality of water catch devices 122. The drag-creating sections 118 aand 118 b are shown as having three four water catch devices 122, andthe drag-creating sections 120 a and 120 b are shown as having fourwater catch devices 22, though these numbers can be varied depending onthe length of the arms and legs, the weight and/or height of theswimmer, intended use of the wetsuit (swimming, surfing or diving), thestyle of stroke, and other environmental factors (e.g., swimmingconditions such as swimming in a pool or open water where there arecurrents, current flow directions, etc.).

Each water catch device 122 is created by providing a flexible panel 126that covers a base 124 in a manner which defines a cavity 128therebetween. More specifically, each panel 126 is made of a flexibleflap piece whose side edges (other than the front edge that opens) arestitched or otherwise joined to the base 124 in a manner such that tworows of aligned water catch devices 122 are provided at opposite sideedges of the base 124, with the openings for all the cavities 128 facingthe center of the base 124 (i.e., all the openings for the cavities 128are facing each other) with a space S between the two rows of watercatch devices 122.

Thus, the water catch devices 122 differ from the water devices 22 inthe orientation of the openings of the cavities 128 and 28,respectively. While all the cavities 28 of the water catch devices 22are arranged in series with their openings all facing the rear (i.e.,away from the hand and towards the shoulder), the cavities 128 of thewater catch devices 122 are aligned perpendicular to the cavities 28orientation of the water catch devices 22, with the cavities 128 facingeach other.

The flap piece for the panels 126 is constructed such that it can beexpanded and collapsed to allow water to enter and leave the cavity 128.This is facilitated by the highly flexible material that can be expandwhen under some force. An example of such a material is NEOPRENE™ thathas been laminated with a fabric. The flap piece can be moved betweenthe collapsed configuration where it is generally flat adjacent theunderlying base 124 (similar to that shown in FIG. 4A), and an expandedconfiguration in which it stretches away from the underlying base 124(similar to that shown in FIG. 4B).

The flap pieces of the panels 126 assist the swimmer (wearing thewetsuit 110) in generating drag, while minimizing undesirable friction.For example, in a swim stroke for the freestyle stroke (see FIGS. 8 and9), when the arm enters the water, the water catch devices 122 aremoving in a first downward direction where the orientation of the flappieces (i.e., perpendicular to the water surface) causes the flap piecesto expand because the openings of the cavities are moving verticallyfrom top to bottom as the arm (or leg) enters the water, therebyincreasing the volume inside the cavities 128 to “catch” more water.Conversely, during the pull phase of the freestyle stroke (see FIG. 8),the water catch devices 122 in the arm are moving in a second direction(perpendicular to the first direction) where the water in the cavities128 is being emptied back into the pool, river, lake or ocean. The sameapplies for the water catch devices 122 in the leg, but it should benoted that for leg movement, both the upward and downward motions areforce generating (i.e., there is no pull phase), whereas the cavities128 only create more propulsion for one direction only. In this regard,for the arm movement there is a pull phase and a recovery phase; duringthe recovery phase, the arm leaves the water and the cavities 128 areemptied before re-entering the water.

In other words, the water catch devices 122 are oriented on the arms andlegs of the wetsuit 110 in a manner to provide additional drag onlyduring portions of a stroke where the swimmer's arms and legs are movingin a downward direction, thereby providing propulsion through the waterin a forward direction. For example, the water catch devices 122 for thearms 112 a, 112 b in FIG. 6 are all oriented with the cavities 128opening towards each other, and the water catch devices 122 for the legs116 a, 116 b oriented with the cavities 128 opening towards each other.Such an orientation is best suited for use in a freestyle stroke.

The structure and arrangement of the drag-creating sections and theirwater catch devices 122 allows for the provision of a wetsuit that helpsto increase drag for propulsion while still minimizing friction throughthe water, and a wetsuit design that can be streamlined andlight-weight, and which allows for simplified production and reducedproduction costs. In particular, each drag-creating section has aplurality of water catch devices 122 that are arranged in two rows withtheir openings facing each other. This arrangement allows less materialto be used for the wetsuit 110 as each panel 126 itself defines a cavity128. Less material used means less material waste, and reduces thestitching area as well. In addition, this arrangement provides a clearerand slicker outer surface as the stitchings are not visible from theexterior, thereby helping to reduce friction and providing a morestreamlined wetsuit outer surface.

While the description above refers to particular embodiments of thepresent invention, it will be understood that many modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit thereof. The accompanying claimsare intended to cover such modifications as would fall within the truescope and spirit of the present invention.

1. A wetsuit, comprising: a plurality of pieces of material that arestitched or glued together to form the wetsuit; and a drag-creatingsection provided on one of the pieces of material, the drag-creatingsection having a base, and a plurality of water catch devices, eachwater catch device having a flap piece, with a cavity defined betweeneach flap piece and the base of the piece of material and an openingthat leads to the cavity, and each flap piece constructed such that itcan be moved between a collapsed configuration where it is generallyflat adjacent the underlying base of the piece of material, and anexpanded configuration in which it stretches away from the underlyingbase of the piece of material; wherein the plurality of water catchdevices are arranged in two rows on opposite sides of the base, with theopenings of each row of water catch devices facing each other.
 2. Thewetsuit of claim 1, wherein the surface area of the flap piece isgreater than the surface area of the underlying base of the piece ofmaterial or the underlying base portion.
 3. The wetsuit of claim 1,wherein the piece of material is a first arm piece of material and thedrag-creating section is a first drag-creating section, the plurality ofpieces of material further including a second arm piece of material, andfurther including a second drag-creating section provided on the secondarm piece of material, the second drag-creating section having aplurality of water catch devices that are arranged in two rows onopposite sides of the base of the second drag-creating section, with theopenings of each row of water catch devices of the second drag-creatingsection facing each other.